The analysis of more than 3,500 German children found those who
started out solidly in the middle of the pack in 5th grade could
jump to the 63rd percentile by 8th grade if they were very
motivated and used effective learning strategies, said lead
author Kou Murayama, a psychology researcher at the University of
California Los Angeles.

"The growth in math achievement was predicted by motivation and
learning strategies," Murayama told LiveScience. "Given that IQ
did not show this kind of effect, we think this is impressive."

Math on the brain

Just how innate math skills are is a controversial question. Some
studies show that math
skills emerge in babies, while others show that culture plays
a huge role in shaping those skills.

For instance, men consistently outperform women on standardized
math tests. But those differences may be due to
math anxiety, or
cultural influences, other studies have shown.

And in opinion surveys, people in Eastern countries often rate
effort as most important to math ability, while Westerners
typically say math ability is inborn.

Major improvements

To find out which factor was more important, Murayama's team
tracked about 3,500 children from Bavaria as they completed an IQ
test and an assessment of their algebraic and geometric know-how
from 5th grade to 10th grade.

The researchers also gave students surveys that measured
intrinsic motivation to work at math by asking them to rate, on a
scale of 1 to 5, how much they agreed with statements like, "I
invest a lot of effort in math, because I am interested in the
subject." They also reported how motivated they were by outside
factors like getting good grades.

The survey also asked students how much they relied on rote
memorization versus "deep-learning" strategies that had them tie
their math knowledge to other areas of their life.

Not surprisingly, at the start of the study, kids with high IQs
performed the best at math.

But in a vindication of exacting Tiger
Moms everywhere, effective studying techniques and
motivation, not IQ, predicted who had most improved their math
skills by 10th grade. Kids who started out with average math
abilities but were in the top 10 percent in terms of learning
strategies and motivation jumped up by about 13 percentage points
over the course of the study in their math abilities, Murayama
said. Apathetic kids with high IQs showed no such jump.

"It is not a good idea to force students to learn mathematics,"
Murayama said.

Instead, people who were driven by their own interest improved
the most. So rather than keeping Junior's nose to the grindstone,
it may be more helpful for parents or teachers to show him how
math ties to real life (for instance, understanding that two $3
candy bars cost $6 rather than just memorizing times tables), he
said.